Australia delays climate change bill vote until May

The chance of Australia passing carbon cap-and-trade legislation receded further today after the government signalled it would delay a crucial Senate vote on its controversial climate change bill until May.

The move will further fuel speculation that the government is struggling to secure the small handful of opposition votes it requires to pass the legislation, which has already been blocked twice by the Senate during the past year.

The decision came as the government's legislative agenda received a further blow when the Senate blocked proposed health reforms for the second time.

The repeated rejection of the climate and health bills has given the government the power to call an early election, but Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has repeatedly downplayed the prospect, insisting that he intends to call an election in the autumn as scheduled.

The latest delays further reduce the chances of the government's proposed cap-and-trade scheme coming into effect in 2011 as scheduled, and fears are mounting among carbon traders and green businesses that the bill could yet be killed altogether.

Liberal Party leader Tony Abbott, who has expressed scepticism over the human causes of climate change, has vowed to make the bill an election issue and has seen a jump in the polls since his appointment late last year.

Polls have also shown that support for the government's climate change policies has fallen since the disappointing end to the Copenhagen Summit, while opposition has been further stoked following the abandonment of a domestic energy-efficiency scheme that is alleged to have damaged the roofs of 1,000 houses and has been blamed for over 90 fires and four deaths.